Live load weight indicator assembly



Nov. 17, 1953 R, R. CROOKSTON 2,659,574

LIVE LOAD WEIGHT INDICATOR ASSEMBLY 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 9, 1952 FIG. 3.

.VII 7 INVENTOR.

Roberf R. Crooksfon,

ATTORNEY- FIG Nov. 17, 1953 R. R. CROOKSTON 2,659,574

LIVE LOAD WEIGHT INDICATOR ASSEMBLY Filed April 9, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 AIR SUPPLY INVEN TOR.

Robert R. Crooksfon,

ATTORNE).

1953 R. R. CROOKSTON LIVE LOAD WEIGHT INDICATOR ASSEMBLY Filed April 9, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IIEIIIIIII INVENTOR.

Robert R. Crooksfo,

A T TORNE Y.

Patented Nov. 17, 1953 UNITED STAT ES PATENT OFF I CE.

LIVE LOAD WEIGHT INDICATOR ASSEMBLY- Robert R'. *Crookst'on, Houston, Tex., assignor', by

mesne assignments, to Standard Oil Develop ment Company, Elizabeth, M. J.,- a corporation of Delaware Application April 9, 1952', Serial No-281,429

4 Claims. I

This application is directed to a live load weight indicator particularly adapted to be attached to the live line of an oil well drilling rig and to an assembly including the weight indicator and mounting means which enables it to be readily applied to and released from the live line.

An object of the invention is to-provfde a weight indicator with a clamping assembly which may be readily applied to and removed from the live Ii'ne.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a clamp assembly for a live line weight indicator which automatically maintains the portion of the line passingbetween contact members of the clamp in a kink, bend orbight which makes a predetermined angle with the adjacent portion of the wire line even though the weight supported by the line fluctuates.v

A further object of the present invention is to provide a mounting means which readily enables a clamp for the line to be readily positioned preparatory to putting" it on the live line and for readily removing it from the vicinity of the line when it is disengaged therefrom.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention may be seen from the following" description taken with the drawing in which Fig. 1 is an isometric view showing an assembly embodying the present invention with the clamp ing portion engaged with a wire line and the mounting means mounted on the headboard of a draw works;

Fig. 2. is an elevation partly in section showing details of construction of clamping assembly 01 Fig. I;

Fig; 3 shows a view partly in section of the clamp assembly shown in Figs. l and 2; and,

Fig. 4a is a schematic view-showing the air now lines connected to the several parts of the assembly shown in Fig. 1 and thus illustrates one methd of connecting the device to apparatus for automatically controlling the brakes of a drilling rig.

The present invention willnow be described in greater detail in conjunction with the draw mg.

Turning now specifically to Fig. 1 an embodiment of the clamp assembly is shown engaged the line reeled on the draw works of'a drilling The clamp assembly is designated as A and hasas its principal parts or sub assembl'ies a; frame member E, a frame-member C; a fluid motor assembly D; avalve assern'bly'lzl and valve actuati'ng" assembly FE Assembly A is'eng'aged with a, live. portion of line G, that isthe line moves.

longitudinally through assembly A as ibis" reeled (Cl. 254-173l on and. unreeled from the draw works. The mounting means for the assembly A consists of a suspending assembly H adapted to be suspended from the drilling derrick and a positioning assembly' J adapted to be mounted on the head board of the draw works K. Compressed air is supplied to the system through a suitable means such as an air compressor, not shown in the drawing, connected to air supply line IL. It will be noted that in Fig. 1 only a portion of the air supply line L is shown which is shown in Fig. 4.

Member I I serves as a pivot securing the upper ends of frame members Band C together. Memher I I also serves as an axle upon which. grooved follower wheel [2 is mounted. Another axle member [3 is secured to the lower end of frame member B and serves as the mounting means for grooved follower wheel [4. Another axle member i5 is secured to frame member C and serves as the mounting means for grooved follower wheel [6. It wiI-l be. understood that the several axles will be provided with suitable bearings to allow free angular movement between frame members B and C; and free rotation of the groovedfollower wheels l2, l and IE but since bearing" assemblies are well known to the art they have not been shown in the drawing.

It will be seen that live line G is threaded. between the grooved follower wheels with. one side of the line in contact with. grooved follower wheels [Zand l 4 and" the other side of the line in contact. with grooved follower wheel Hi. The grooved follower wheel [6 is positioned. between grooved follower wheels I 2 and. [4 and when force is exerted throughassembly D the grooved follower wheel [6 forces the line to form. a. kink bend: or bightbetween the. spaced grooved fol lower'wheel's l2 and [4.

The power means for moving the frame members' B and C whereby the grooved follower wheels IZ', If and f6 are engaged with the line or whereby they maybe disengaged and released from the line is the fluid motor assembly D. Fluid motor' assemblies are well' known. to the art and it will be: understood that-any suitable assemblymay be used. However, details of a specific embodi ment areshown; in Fig. 2.

Assembly D consists of a. body or casing Z0 whose interio'ris hollow and is of a. generally cylin'd'rical. shape. Body 20 is secured. to: frame member 0 by cap screws 2|. A pistonrod. 22, as: seen in Fig. 2'; has its left end terminating. in a head 23" which is within body 20; The rightend; of piston rod- 2? terminates in a. yoke 24 which is:

pivotally secured to body member B by an axle 25. -A spring 26 within body encircles piston rod 22 with one end in contact with a piston rod and the other end in contact with the frame member thereby biasing piston rod head 23 to the left. When a power fluid is not supplied to the assembly D, spring 26 exerts a bias to pull grooved follower wheel I4 away from grooved follower wheel I6 thereby releasing the assembly A from wire line G.

As seen in Fig. 2, the left end of body 20 is formed into a chamber 21 by means of diaphragm 28. The outer edge of diaphragm 28 is secured to chamber 26 in a fluid-tight manner by means of ring member 29 secured to body 20 by cap screws 30. The inside edge of diaphragm 28 is clamped in an air-tight manner to piston rod head 23 by being bolted between retaining members 3| and 32 which members are fastened together and to the piston rod head by bolts 33. The left end of body 23 has an opening 34 to which is secured a fitting 35 for the inlet and outlet of compressed air into chamber 21. It will be seen that the admission of compressed air to chamber 21 has the effect of forcing piston head 23 to the right thereby tending to move grooved follower wheel |6 to the left and grooved follower wheels I2 and I4 to the right and putting a kink or bight in live line G. In order to achieve this effect the power fluid in chamber 21 must of course overcome the bias exerted by spring 26 in addition to the tension in line G. In the assembly of Fig. 2 compressed air is brought in from air supply line L through line which is connected to fitting 4| of valve assembly E. The air, after passing through the valve, leaves through fitting 42 and passes through line 43 to fitting 35 whence it may enter chamber 21. Line 43 is connected to compressed air supply line L by means of line I06 controlled by manually operated bleeder valve I04. In normal operation of the device of the present invention when indicating the weight supported by live line G, the air may be released from chamber 21 through fitting 35, line 43 and valve E which bleeds it to the atmosphere. When an operator wishes to release assembly A from live line G this may be done by bleeding air from chamber 21 through bleeder valve I04.

The valve actuating assembly F consists of an elongated member which is pivoted to frame member B by means of a pivot 5| which is secured to the frame member and which passes through a suitable opening in member F. The upper end of member 50 is formed in the shape of a boss 52 for engagement with the end of spring 53, said spring fitting in a spring receiving recess 49 of frame member B. Thus, spring 53 exerts a bias on the upper end 52 of member 50 in a clockwise direction about pivot 5| as seen in Fig. 2. A shoe 54 for contacting with live line G is secured to member 50 at a point between its upper end and pivot 5|. When fluid motor assembly D exerts a force moving grooved follower wheel IE to the left and grooved follower wheel I4 to the right, contact of the live line G with shoe 54 has the effect of overcoming the bias exerted by spring 53 and causing member 50 to pivot in counter clockwise direction about pivot 5|. An adjustable stop member 55 is secured to frame member 3 and is arranged to contact member 50 between pivot 5| and the lower end of member 50 thereby limiting the movement of member 50 in the clockwise direction around pivot 5|. Such a limit in the movement of member 50 is necessary when the device is released from the. live 1 16 G. The

lower end of member 50 is secured by pin 56 to actuating member 51 of valve assembly E.

The details of valve assembly E are shown in Fig. 3. Valve body 60 has a central chamber 6| having in its side wall an inlet port 62 to which is attached fitting 4| and a delivery port 63 to which is attached fitting 42. The right end of valve body 60 has an end passage 64 in which member 51 fits slidingly and sealed by means of a sealing ring 65. The left end is provided with an adjusting screw 66.

Member 51 has its right end pivoted to valve operating member 50 as heretofore described. A central passage 61 extends from the left end of member 51 to side outlet ports 68, said outlet ports being always to the right of sealing ring 65. The left end of member 51 is in the shape of an annular valve seat 69.

Within valve body 66 is an assembly Q consisting of a body 10 having a cavity 1| with inlet ports 12 discharging thereto and having communicating therewith an axially extending passage 13. Passage 13 communicates with side ports 14 whereby fluid may be discharged therethrough. Valve body 10 has a valve seat 15 where cavity 1| joins passage 13. O-rings 16 and 11 are arranged on the outside of body 10 and seal the space between bodies 60 and 10 around the inlet port 62 of valve body 60. A dumbbell shaped valve member 18 is carried by valve body 10. The central portion of valve member 18 moves slidably in passage 13, the left end thereof being adapted to seat on valve seat 15 and the right end thereof being adapted to seat on valve seat 68 of member 51. A spring 19 is arranged within body 10 and biases valve member 18 to the right. It will be seen that when member 51 is moved to the right to bring seat 69 out of contact with valve member 18 that air can bleed to the atmosphere from cavity 6| of valve body 60 (and from the delivery port 63) by means of central passage 61 and outlet ports 68 of member 51. As member 51 is moved to the left it first brings seat 69 in contact with the right end of valve member 18. At this position, with the left end of member 18 remaining seated on its seat 15, the valve is sealed off so that it does not bleed air from delivery port 63 nor does it allow air to enter through inlet port 62. Upon further movement of member 51 to the left, valve member 18 is moved to the left out of contact with its seat 15 and in this position air can pass from inlet port 62 through port 12, cavity 1|, passage 13, outlet port 14 and to delivery port 63. It will be evident to a workman skilled in the art that the valve assembly E, as actuated by valve actuating assembly F, alters the amount of compressed air supply to fluid motor assembly D as a function of the position of shoe 54 which in turn is actuated by wire line G. Thus, valve E is operable to keep the kink or bend in live line G between grooved follower wheels I2 and H at a predetermined angle or amount.

The means J for moving the assembly A to allow it to be brought into contact or out of contact with the live line G consists of a piston and cylinder assembly. Since piston and cylinder assemblies are well known to the art, the details of construction are not shown, the showing being limited to the exterior of the cylinder with a piston rod 8| projecting therefrom. The left end of cylinder 80 is provided with inlet line 82 and the right end is provided with inlet line 83. The cylinder 80 with piston BI is act-acre mounted on the head boa-rd of. drawworks K of a rotary drilling rig and. is. arranged for pro;-

ducing horizontal motion. of. piston. rod. 8t; A horizontally extending rod 84. is also mounted on the head board K oi the rotary in a horizontal position and serves as a rail. member for a second piston and cylinder assembly. The sec ond. piston and cylinder assembly has acylinder 8-5 with its end in the form of a journal or. hearing 86 which slidingly embraces rod 84. Projecting from the. end of cylinder 85- is piston rod 55:. The. end of cylinder 85 is securedto piston rod Si by projection 81. The. end of piston rod 85 which projects from cylinder 35 is pivotally connected to the. lower end of frame member B by a pivoted. Cylinder 85 is provided withair inletv lines 89 and 90.

The control means for moving. pistons 2d.- and 8% of assembly J are shown. inv Fig. l. Com:- pressed air supply line L is shown connected to assemblies E and J-. In addition a gauge. M and amplifying assembly N are. shown operative.- ly connected. with the. assemblies. E and D and also operatively connected with. a. fluid motor assembly 0 and a. valve. assembly P.. It will be understood that valve assembly P may be op-- eratively connected to. a system for controlling the brakes of a. drilling rig, and. may correspond for example with a like valve shown in my copenoling application Serial No. November 29, 1950, now Patent No. 2,638,319.

Air line a: connected to main air supply line L is connected to a valve assembly R which is shown schematically as consisting of the four branch lines 32, 83, 89 and 9.8, each of the branch lines being provided with a bleeder type valve designated as 9 3, 95', 96,.and 9?, respectively. It will be obvious that by suitable. manipulation of the valves 95,. 9E, and. 9.1 that the piston rod 86 and hence the. assembly A can be moved horizontally either back and forth or in and out with respect to head board K. The assembly A is preferably suspended fromv the as.- sembly H consisting of arail I'UI' Whichis adapted to be fastened horizontally to the drilling derrick (not shown in the drawing). Mounted for mover ientv on rail lii'I is a carriage ItZ to. which is attached a line Hi3 terminating at its lower end in a clevis I84 which is fastened to the upper end of clamp member l3. by means of. a pin. Hi l. I

Thus, when the lower end of the assembly A is moved by assembly J, the" upper end moves freely in a line parallel to the axis of piston rod 81 and mounting. rod iii.

If the assembly A is engaged with the live line G, it is desired to release it therefrom. This may be done by bleeding off air through the outlet oi bleeder valve I85 arranged in the air line which line connects air supply line L with air line 43 between fitting 35 and assembly E. When air is bled from the chamber 21, the spring 2e takes command causing grooved follower wheels I4 and I2 to move to the left and rooved follower wheel IE to move to the right with respect to each other so that the follower wheels become clear of wire line G. It is noted that as soon as shoe 54 moves out of contact with live line G, valve assembly E seals oil" the inlet port 62 so that no more air can pass through valve E to power unit D. When the grooved follower wheels I2, i4 and I6 have been disengaged from live line G, the assembly may be moved by manipulating piston rods 8| and 85' until it is away from the immediate vicinity of wire line G and thus leaves it unobstructed by 198,189 filed I 6 the assembly; If. the from wire. line. G, the steps. engaging: it. involve first moving it. by means of assembly J untilthe grooves. ofthe grooved follower wheels l2, M, and I6 are in line. with the axis of wire line G whereupon valve- 95, may be. momentarily opened tosupply compressed. air to.- power means J,

which in turn moves the two frame members B'and Cand brings the. grooved follower wheels I -2, I4, and: I6: andshoefillinto contact withlive line. G. When shoe: 54; comes: into contact with live. line the. actuating; assembly F, andvalve assembly E take." command and. cause the as;- sembly to maintainv a bend or kink of a. predetermined. amount; in the live. line; G.

As shown. in Fig. 13. the power. assembly D and. valves E are. operatively connected to; a; con.- trol system. This. control system, for example, may be. an automatic. control for a drilling rig of the type; disclosed: in. U. S.. Patents 1,337,439, Brantley, November 10, 193 L, 2,133,016,.Brantley, October. 11,, 1938,. and. 2,489,449 Crookston, November 29, 1949.

As. shownin: Fig; 4-, fitting: 35' of power as- I sembly D isv connected through line H!) to one side of gauge. M. It-is. also connected through line. Ilil and: branch line III to the pressure amplifier N...

Pressure amplifier assembly N is described. and claimed in copending application Serial No. 242,302, filed August. 17, 19.51, in, the name. of Arthur J. Seljos. However, in order todescribe more fully the operation of the live load weight indicator assembly of the present application, the details. of construction of. pressure. amplifier N will be given.

Pressure amplifier N. consists of body 2 having a chamber 3 and a chamber H4 on. opposite sides of diaphragm assembly H5. An in- .let. port. III; discharges into chamber Ilfil and is connectedv with line, llc through branch line I. An inlet IL'I discharges into chamber H3 and. is. connected through branched line H8 to gauge M. and to regulator valve H9 which al.- lows air atv a constant pressure to pass from main air supply line L to branched line H8 and thence. to gauge M and also to chamber II3.

Body I'I2 also has. a chamber I29. with an inlet port. [2| and delivery portv I22 connected thereto. Within. chamber is. an assembly Q which is. identical withv valve assembly Q of the valve assembly E. so will not. be again. described. A. valve actuating. member I23 for actuating member l8= of. assembly Q, is mounted in. the center portion of diaphragm I24. which has its outer edge secured. to housing, .2 and the space adjacent the left: side. of the. diaphragm in. fluid communication with chamber I29 and the space adjacent the right side in contact with the atmosphere through port I25 extending through the Wall of housing IIZ. Actuator I23 has a discharge passage I26 and surrounding the left entrance of the passage is a seat I21 which cooperates with the right end of valve member 78. A rod I28 sealed by O-ring I29 passes through the wall of housing II 2 and has its right end in contact with diaphragm assembly I I5 and its left end in contact with member I23. A spring I30 is arranged in chamber I20 to bias member I23 to the right. Side port I22 is connected to a fluid motor 0 (which may be I a piston and cylinder or diaphragm assembly) by line I3I. Port I2] is connected to air supply line L.

In effect, assembly N balances the pressure in assembly is.- disengaged.

the fluid power unit D against a constant predetermined pressure coming through pressure control valve H9, these two pressures acting as a control means to allow air from air supply line L to pass through assembly Q to delivery port I22 and thence to fluid motor assembly 0. That is, if the pressure in assembly D and thus the pressure in chamber H4 diminishes the diaphragm assembly I I5 moves to the left transmitting the motion through members I28 and I23. The first effect of this motion is to cause valve member 18 to seat on seat I2! sealing off the outlet and additional movement moves valve 18 off its seat I5 in assembly Q allowing air to flow from air supply inlet I21 to delivery port I22. Movement of diaphragm assembly to the right first allows valve 18 to seat on its seat 15 thus preventing delivery of further air through port I22 and additional movement of diaphragm assembly H5 causes seat I21 to move away from valve member 18 thus bleeding air from the delivery port (and hence from fluid motor 0) to the atmosphere.

As heretofore explained, the piston and cylinder assembly 0 and the valve assembly P may be suitably connected to automatic control means for actuating brakes. Hence the details of construction of these devices are not here described in detail.

Having fully described and illustrated the preferred embodiment of the present invention, what I desire to claim is:

l. A clamp for a live line weight indicator comprising a first and second part pivoted together, first and second guide means on the first part, and a third guide means on the second part said guide means cooperating to engage with a wire iine and bend it in a bight, a fluid operated power means mechanically connected with said first and second parts for forcing said guide means in contact with said wire line to bend said bight into a predetermined angle, a valve mounted on said assembly in fluid communication with said fluid operated power means, a contact member mechanically connected to the valve element of said valve whereby changes in the angle of the bight of said wire line change the position of said valve element in said valve.

2. A clamp for a wire line consisting of a first frame member and a second frame member pivoted to said first frame member, a pair of pulleys mounted on the first frame member, a pulley mounted on the second frame member said pulleys cooperating to engage with a wire line to force it into a bight with a predetermined angle, a piston and cylinder power assembly operatively connecting the two frame members for changing the position of said three pulleys thereby altering the angle of the bight engaged by said pulleys. a valve member, means fluidly connecting the outlet of said valve with said piston and said cylinder assembly for supplying power thereto, a contact member mechanically connected to said valve member for changing the position of said valve member as a function of the relative changes in the position of said two frame members.

3. A live line weight indicator assembly clamp comprising a first piston and cylinder assembly adapted to be mounted on the head board of a. draw works with its axis parallel to the axis of the draw works reel, a track adapted to be mounted on the head board of the draw works parallel with the piston rod of said first piston assembly, a second piston and cylinder assembly J'Ournaled on said track for slidable movement thereon and mechanically connected to the first piston and cylinder assembly to be moved thereby along said track, a suspending means adapted to be suspended from the drilling derrick, a clamp consisting of a first part and second part pivoted together and suspended from said suspending means, first and second guide means on the first part of the clamp and a third guide means on the second part of the clamp, said guide means cooperating to engage with the live line of said draw works and to bend it in a bight, a fluid operated power means mechanically connected with said first and second parts of the clamp for forcing said guide means in contact with said wire line to bend said bight into a predetermined angle, a valve mounted on said assembly in fluid communication with said fluid operated power means and a contact member mechanically connected to the valve element of said valve whereby changes in the angle of the bight of said wire line change the postion of said valve element in said valve.

4. A device in accordance with claim 3 in which said suspending means consists of a rail adapted to be mounted horizontally in the drilling derrick with a carriage slidably mounted on the rail and with a cable having one end secured to the carriage and the other end secured to said clamp.

ROBERT R. CROOKSTON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,121,870 Greene June 28, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 705,751 France June 12, 1931 

